Bronkberry Farms is about far more than the sale of flowers, vegetables, gifts, and garden supplies for Jennifer Bronk. It is about keeping a legacy alive.
The land where Bronkberry Farms welcomes families in Plainfield, nearly 40 miles southeast of the Chicago Loop, has been in Jennifer’s family for five generations. Long before the greenhouses, the garden center, the farm stand, and rows of vegetables, it was a working farm where Jennifer’s father grew corn and soybeans. It was the place where she learned to drive a tractor, worked alongside her dad, and discovered an early love of farming.
When her father died, Jennifer faced a decision that would ultimately shape the next chapter of the family farm.
“I never had any intention of selling the farmland,” she says. “I’m truly passionate about the history of the farm and what it means. My dad took pride in never selling, and I wanted to carry on that tradition.”
So, rather than selling the land as development grew up around it, Jennifer and her husband, Kevin, found a new way to preserve its legacy. They turned the farm into a destination.
In 2012, they opened Bronkberry Farms by launching with little more than a roadside stand and a handful of hanging baskets. Today, the property has evolved into a large, independent garden center and retail farming destination where customers can find flowers, farm-grown produce, gifts, garden décor, and seasonal offerings.
For Jennifer, the transformation was about finding a way to bring farming forward.
“The farming is my favorite part. I’m the happiest out in the field.”
Getting her hands back in the dirt
Jennifer’s return to farming happened after a long time away from crop life. As an adult, she pursued a career in real estate and spent more than 30 years selling homes before moving into commercial and land development. Then came the decision to return home.
“I decided to get back to my roots and get back on the farm,” she says. “We decided to open the garden center and get our hands back in the dirt.”
Jennifer did not want to simply own a farm. She wanted to work it.
“I still get out in the field and plant the tomato plants. I get my hands in the dirt. I weed with the kids that help me here, and I like to do a little bit of everything here.
“I enjoy being out in the dirt more than I do being in the office,” she says. “I don’t like to ask somebody to do something that I wouldn’t do myself, and I want to make sure that I still do it myself as well.”
That connection to the land also gives Jennifer a unique perspective on retail. She grows much of what she sells, selecting much of what is on the shelves at Bronkberry Farms, and creating an environment where customers can experience those products.
A farm is a retail store, too
Jennifer considers Bronkberry Farms a retailer, because her business not only grows its products, but it also sells those products.
“We are unique, because we’re a true farm. And we do grow the vegetables here. And in turn, we do sell them for retail,” stressed Jennifer.
She also approaches the products she carries with the same hands-on philosophy that she brings to the fields. Jennifer travels to garden center shows looking for distinctive merchandise and takes pride in personally selecting many of the items sold at her business. She also hand-picks flowers and vegetable plants from the local growers she works with.
That personal touch is central to her definition of retail.
“I love retail because I like having people come in and get a unique gift,” she says. “Also getting them connected with nature, finding something they might not find anywhere else, getting the farm fresh vegetables.”
For Jennifer, the transaction is only part of the experience. The relationship matters more.
“I love retail because human contact face-to-face is our biggest strength.”
The boy who had never seen a farm
Perhaps the clearest example of what Jennifer believes retail can accomplish happened during a field trip.
A young boy from Chicago came to the farm. Jennifer recalled that as he looked around, she realized he had never seen crops growing in a field.
The boy had tears in his eyes; as did Jennifer.
It was not sadness because the child was having a bad experience. It was the realization of something that Jennifer had known her entire life.
“It actually made me sad to think that people don’t realize where their food comes from,” she recalls. “And that is a huge thing for me.”
The moment reinforced a belief for Jennifer that people need opportunities to get outside. They need opportunities to experience nature.
“There’s nothing better than the touching and feeling of the products that you want to get and the communication with other people,” she says. “I love sharing the land with people.”
That philosophy is at the heart of Bronkberry Farms. Yes, customers are shopping. But they are also walking through a greenhouse. They are seeing crops growing. They are spending time outside. They are bringing their children to a farm.
“We really enjoy that part of the farm, creating memories for the families,” Jennifer says. “We’ve watched the families grow over the years.”
The human side of retail
On any given day, Jennifer might work in the fields, check the greenhouse, manage social media, coordinate events, greet customers, oversee staff and handle the books.
Life as a retailer and farmer simultaneously means wearing all kinds of hats. Her days can start around 4:30 a.m. and stretch until 7 p.m.
Jennifer says her background in real estate helped prepare her for one of the most important parts of running a retail business – the people.
“I believe [the reason] I’ve been able to make the farm work this long is knowing, caring about our customers,” she says. “We want them to come in happy and leave even happier and want them to come back.”
Ultimately, that is what Jennifer hopes her customers take away from Bronkberry Farms. Not just a plant, a gift, or a bag of vegetables, but an experience.
“We want them to leave knowing that they’ve bettered themselves by getting outside and having a great experience.”
It is a fitting philosophy for a business born from a family’s determination to preserve its land and its history.
Jennifer could have chosen a very different path for those acres. Instead, she chose to build something new on top of something old: a business that honors her father, her family’s farming tradition, and her own childhood while giving new generations a chance to experience the farm.
Fifteen years into its journey, Bronkberry Farms has become a place where farming and retail meet, where customers can shop, explore, learn, connect and simply spend some time outside.
And for Jennifer, there is still nowhere she would rather be.
“I love what I do,” she says. “And yes, I do get tired at the end of the day, but I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”
